Ed Asner to Read at Hartford Stage's "Brand:NEW" New Works Fest

By Ernio Hernandez
04 Oct 2007

Ed Asner
Ed Asner

Edward Asner will appear in Hartford Stage's upcoming Brand:NEW Fall Festival of New Work. The week-long event features works by Jose Rivera and Michele Lowe as well as a new musical by Cheryl Davis and Doug Cohen.

The festival — which features "script readings, workshops and performances of new plays" — will play Nov. 1-6 at the Connecticut stage. Other events include a discussion with playwrights and an evening of short plays by the winners of the annual teenage playwriting competition "Write On!"

The schedule (subject to change) of events follows:

  • Nov. 1 - 7:30 PM: Inana
    by Michele Lowe - directed by Rebecca Taichman
    "A provocative look at the value of art and culture in wartime set against the back of the Iraq war."

  • Nov. 2 - 8 PM: Boleros for the Disenchanted
    by Jose Rivera - directed by Michael Wilson
    "A love story that begins in Puerto Rico and spans 40 years."

  • Nov. 3 - Noon: Barnstormer
    book/lyrics by Cheryl Davis, music by Doug Cohen - directed by Jerry Dixon
    "A new musical about Bessie Coleman, the world's first African American aviatrix."

  • Nov. 3 - 5 PM: Number of People
    by Emilie Beck - directed by Shira Piven
    "Emmy Award winner Asner plays Leo Gold, a Polish-born Holocaust survivor in the early stages of dementia."

  • Nov. 3 - 8 PM: Hardball
    by Victoria Stewart - directed by Jeremy B. Cohen
    "Story of a rising young conservative female political pundit and the lengths she'll go to advance her career as news becomes entertainment and politics a performance."

  • Nov. 4 - 5 PM: Playwrights' Panel
    Scheduled guests: David Grimm (Chick, The Great Osram), Luis Alfaro (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) and Elizabeth Egloff (The Ether Dome)

  • Nov. 5 - 7:30 PM :Goldstar, Ohio
    by Michael Tisdale - directed by Andy Paris
    "Real-life stories of Ohio families coming to terms with military losses."

  • Nov. 6 - 7 PM: Write On! Winners

    Readings will be held at Hartford Stage's Rehearsal Studios at 942 Main Street or on the theatre's MainStage at 50 Church Street. For reservations or more information, call the Hartford Stage box office at (860) 527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.